Many times, for a club like Atletico Madrid, player selection is not a choice between good and better.
Because they do not have the money.
Take the choice of their two defensive midfielders.
Gabi is the indispensable core of Atletico's midfield, his position is unshakable. But who partners him?
Portuguese midfielder Tiago Mendes or Spain's Mario Suárez.
Both are known for their defensive qualities and can complement Gabi in a double-pivot setup, but neither can be considered an elite holding midfielder, perhaps not even first-tier.
Because both have very real shortcomings.
In the talent pool of wealthy clubs, unless there truly is no alternative, they generally will not be interested in this profile. They can afford better, such as Xabi Alonso, who excels in both phases, or Javi Martínez, who offers elite defensive ability.
Mario Suárez's passing is slightly better than Tiago's, which shows in their pass success rates, about 84 percent versus 80 percent. Compared to holding midfielders like Xabi Alonso, Javi Martínez, or Busquets, who often exceed 90 percent, the gap is obvious.
Defensively, Suárez is dribbled past relatively rarely, averaging 1.1 times per La Liga match and 1.4 in the Champions League. Tiago is beaten 1.0 times per match in La Liga and 1.7 in the Champions League.
It is clear that when the game pressure rises, Tiago's one-on-one defending declines.
So why did Simeone choose Tiago, who appears worse, for the final instead of Mario Suárez, who is taller, stronger, and supposedly better defensively?
Because Mario Suárez has his own problems.
First, due to his size, his coverage is a bit lacking. More seriously, he suffers lapses in concentration and is prone to occasional switches-off.
In La Liga this season, he averages two fatal mistakes per match, all caused by this issue.
Tiago, by contrast, averages one fatal mistake per match.
Someone might ask, what about Real Madrid's midfield?
Toni Kroos and Modric are in their prime, and Xabi Alonso's current role suits him perfectly, so Real Madrid's three midfielders make relatively few fatal errors, almost negligible.
This is the difference between elite midfielders and the rest.
Simeone really had no choice.
He chose the lesser of two evils, so he picked Tiago.
…
Gao Shen walked back to the home dugout. As soon as he sat, Carlos Vargas handed him a sheet of live data.
He unscrewed his water bottle, took a drink, frowned at the numbers, then tapped to pull up Tiago's and Gabi's breakdowns.
After he understood the picture, he gestured for Vargas to continue.
"It's been 25 minutes and it's still 0-0," Zidane said.
Gao Shen nodded. "The damage to Atletico won't show yet. It will only become apparent in the second half."
"If we could get one in the first half, the situation would be much better," Carlo added.
"But Simeone has clearly reinforced their left," Zidane frowned. "Di María broke through several times early, creating danger, but now we are getting nothing from that side."
"I wonder if you noticed something," Gao Shen suddenly shifted topic.
Zidane and the others looked over.
"What did you see?"
"Atletico are adjusting to us. Their two forwards are pressing higher to pin our midfield. Raúl García and Koke are also locking on Marcelo and Carvajal, with Diego Costa as the fulcrum for transitions."
"What is the issue with that?" Hierro asked, puzzled.
"Push high, and the midfield gets empty and disconnected," Zidane said bluntly.
"Exactly," Gao Shen praised.
Zidane's tactical radar is sharp. He often captures key signals quickly. Those details can flip a match.
Carlo, having worked with Gao Shen for years, immediately understood.
"You mean we should attack that seam?"
Gao Shen nodded. "I'll have Carvajal and Marcelo fix Koke and Raúl García higher, ideally dragging them upfield. Atletico's full-backs habitually look for Siqueira on the left. So we'll have Ronaldo and Benzema pin Gabi and the center-backs and funnel the ball toward Tiago."
"In their midfield, we count three, Tiago is one, and we also have Di María."
The deeper the game goes, the more the daggers show.
Di María is very complete. He can drop, is fast, and is less obsessed with finishing than Ronaldo. He is ideal for this job.
With that, Gao Shen immediately stepped to the technical area.
Soon after, during a stoppage, he called Toni Kroos over. The two bent their heads together so no one could read their lips or hear them.
Kroos nodded quickly and ran back on.
The instructions were relayed.
Simeone, seated in the visiting dugout, grew uneasy.
He felt Gao Shen was up to something and had no idea what trick he was cooking.
…
Time ticked by.
After Gao Shen's tweak, nothing seemed to change. Everything looked calm.
Past 30 minutes, it stayed that way.
Real Madrid kept to the plan and continued competing head-on.
When the opponent advances, we advance. When they retreat, we control.
The first time they used this approach, it did not work well. This time it was drilled and executed, so the effect was strong. Atletico were stifled and awkward.
Referee Kuipers' whistle was a bit loose, but not excessive.
Into the 35th minute, and onward.
No one noticed the undercurrent beneath the calm surface.
That is football.
Sometimes substitutions bring instant impact, but tactical adjustments, especially detailed and targeted ones, do not necessarily pay off immediately.
Sometimes, not even within the match.
They require a trigger.
Real Madrid were trying to create that opening, deliberately or not, but it also needed Atletico's "cooperation."
In the 37th minute, Real Madrid tried a ball in behind. Ronaldo and Benzema were sprinting, but Miranda intercepted and played Godín.
Benzema sprang at Godín, shading the lane to Siqueira on the left. Ronaldo pressed Miranda quickly and also disrupted the pass into Gabi.
With the front two split, the midfield zone opened up.
Gabi was closer to Ronaldo's side, so Godín fed Tiago directly in front of him.
Almost instantly, Gao Shen sensed the chance.
As expected, Di María had been clever, dropping almost onto the same line as the three midfielders. He looked like he was shadowing the recovering Koke, but in fact he had loosened his mark on Siqueira by design.
There was an art to the spacing.
As long as Tiago played the pass, Di María could jump Siqueira's lane no matter what.
At that moment, the entire Real Madrid block would step in, win it, and break.
Benzema immediately left Godín and ran at Tiago.
Everything happened in a blink. In a second or two, the picture flipped.
When Tiago received, he saw both full-back lanes open. Atletico habitually build left, and Benzema was already shading the line to Juanfran, so his first thought was to play left.
From the middle to Siqueira near the touchline was a little over 20 meters.
Whether it was pressure, nerves, or trying to avoid overhitting, his pass lacked pace and came slow.
Di María took off like a sprinter.
Just when you are dozing, someone hands you a pillow.
Prepared, he burst forward, attacked the space, and cut out the pass from inside the lane.
He then immediately accelerated with the ball.
Benzema reacted quickly, darted to the right edge of the area, and pointed centrally.
The message was clear, vacate the middle, pull to the right, open the line.
Di María, long attuned to Ronaldo and Benzema, carried to the right edge of the D, stepped into the box, and drew Miranda and Godín. Before Tiago could recover, Di María used the outside of his left foot to slide it across.
The ball rolled to the left of the penalty spot, where Ronaldo was waiting unmarked. He did not even take a touch, meeting Di María's pass first time.
The ball nestled in Atletico's bottom-left corner.
"Goallllllllllllllllllllll!"
"Real Madrid have scored!"
"In the 37th minute, Real Madrid finally have the breakthrough!"
"A composed finish from Ronaldo opens the scoring for Real Madrid!"
"My word, a huge error in Atletico's midfield. Tiago's pass to Siqueira was too soft and Di María pounced, launching a rapid counter."
"Atletico's defensive structure was sound, but Tiago's mistake undid everyone's work."
"1-0. Real Madrid take a crucial lead."
On the sideline, Simeone covered his face and shook his head, exasperated.
Gao Shen leapt and then hugged his assistants one by one to celebrate a vital strike.
In a Champions League final, scoring first is massive for any team.
Especially for Real Madrid.
(To be continued.)